Liu Hsiao-shen sat under the eaves to take shelter from the rain. Just now, a lecture about ecology, part of Yellow Butterfly Day activities, was abruptly brought to a halt by a thunderburst, but the rain also extinguished the heat waves which had been piling up since the morning. His face was still wet from the rain, the stubble on his chin revealing arduous work over a long period of time. Glancing at the green mountains immersed in the rain, he said quietly: "This is the time most suitable for daydreaming."

Yes, all his dreams started with returning to Meinung. As a child, his memories of Meinung were full of paddy fields. "My family didn't grow tobacco; only big landlords could afford to grow tobacco. While I was a kid, in addition to studying, I spent my days rolling around in the fields. I didn't get about much, either. I had been to Moonlight Mountain [Mt. Yuekuang] only once, and to Yellow Butterfly Valley [Huangtieh Tsueh Valley] no more than three times."

He was away from home between the ages of 15 and 26. During this time, Liu Hsiao-shen didn't particularly miss Meinung, and he didn't pursue anything with purpose. Life at that time was like a multiple-choice question, to which he was not certain of an answer. However, many serendipitous opportunities helped him to accumulate his potential to make contributions to his hometown later in his life.

While he attended Tainan's First Boys' High School, the person who influenced him most deeply was his Three Principles of the People teacher during his senior year. Back then, martial law had not been lifted yet, but the teacher did not hesitate to talk about the February 28 Incident, the operations of the Legislative Yuan and the principle of historical verification.

"We probably use only one single viewpoint to interpret many historical figures. Take Yueh Fei [the Song dynasty military hero] for example. He went against all odds and did what would inevitably come to no avail, so everybody thinks he was loyal. But if you think from a different angle, if he had known that the situation was essentially hopeless, what's the point in waging war just to retain a good reputation? In my junior high school days, I liked to leaf through Formosa magazine, because the title was very appealing. But the contents astounded me, and I never knew if what they said was true or not. Later on, after what my teacher said sunk in, I started becoming more tolerant, and I also learned how to figure out the actual truth when I heard differing messages."

He is the "bird king" of the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors. Although he graduated from National Taiwan Normal University with a major in biology, he came by his affection for birdwatching unintentionally. "The first time I went birdwatching, I was a sophomore in college. The place we went was Wulai, on the outskirts of Taipei. I still remember the older students who took me there. One was called Foxy, and the other was called Ostrich. As I walked in the deep and secluded glen by a stream, unknown sounds would often float my way. My field glasses zeroed in on many birds that instilled in me a feeling of mystery, like the little forktail or the yellow-throated minivet. I fell in love with the bountiful world of birds."

In his junior year at university, he accompanied his teacher to Kenting to do a field study of amphibians. They repeatedly interviewed local residents to understand the circumstances in the past, and when they did so, he was invariably the representative they selected. He overcame his fear of meeting strangers and began to delight in the experience, because of the many things he could learn from the interviews. As a result of the contacts he made with a number of park guides, he signed up to be trained as a guide for Jade Mountain National Park, and he became one of their fifth class of training graduates.

After graduating from university he returned to his hometown to teach at Nanlung Junior High School. In his first year there, Liu began out of pure interest to go birdwatching in Yellow Butterfly Valley. If it had not been for the fact that there were plans to construct a reservoir in Meinung, he would not have met Charlie Sung, and there would not have been an environmentalist group called the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors. His life after the age of 26 also would not have found its fulfillment on his own home ground.

"I'm not one of those highly motivated people who like crises," he says with a smile. "Right now I just want to have a good look at Meinung and catch up on all the opportunities I missed in the past."

* * *

"Often in my ear, it seems as if I can hear my grandma's voice calling me to come back home for supper, flowing back to me in the wild fields at dusk...." Charlie Sung waxes nostalgic about Meinung, ruminating over every little memory, starting from his childhood.

Sung can recall the most minute details of his childhood, perhaps because from an early age he only had himself to talk to. As if from a film of the bucolic countryside, each event is sharply captured within his heart.

"When I was in second and third grade, in a grove of trees I accidentally discovered a butterfly just emerging from its chrysalis. When I saw the magnificence of its damp wings drying, flapping and flying, I suddenly felt touched. The process of life is so magical and has such dignity!

"In my first year of junior high, I secretly started taking pictures. The first single-lens reflex camera I had was borrowed from my brother-in-law. But I didn't point the lens at any people. What I sought was dew sparkling under the sun, the terraced tobacco-drying racks, or oxcarts. Or while lying in the bean fields, I would photograph the traditional Hakka houses at the far end of the huge fields. At that time the air pollution wasn't so bad in Meinung; I could really get a feeling for why the ancients used to say the setting sun 'was reddening'!

"Noon was the time for grown-ups to take a nap, and time for us mischievous little kids to be as happy as could be. A group of us would often pedal our bicycles five or six kilometers down the road to Chuantou in Yellow Butterfly Valley, where we'd go swimming and snitch mangos. When school was out, I'd go to the back hills to watch the cows for my family, until the stars appeared one by one, and I could recite verses like a poet, too!"

Then he left home and traveled north to attend Chienkuo High School. He lived shuttling back and forth between school and dormitory. Removed from nature, he deeply felt the anguish of having been torn away. In order to fill up a void in his heart, he began taking slow trains to such places as Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Hualien and Ilan. He was involved in the Chienkuo High School magazine. With the lunch money he saved, he would buy books and classical music tapes. Often when he went with his friends from the magazine to coffee shops to write reports, he would smoke a pack of NT$60 cigarettes, but for dinner he would only spend NT$20.

He was lonely at heart, yet during his high school days he was most able to feel the fullness of growing up. Of the four Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors, Sung usually plays the role of public spokesman. His logic and the structural formation of his thoughts have a direct relationship with his experiences working on the Chienkuo High School magazine, which had a tradition of criticizing society. The issue of nuclear waste disposal on Orchid Island has recently been the focus of media attention, but ten years ago they visited the island and did an investigative report. Such people as Yin Hai-kuang, Wang Kuang-chi, Yen Yang-chu and Hu Shih have all been their spiritual guides.

Nevertheless, the longer he was away from home, the greater his homesickness became. He graduated with a major in English from Tamkang University, and becoming a teacher was the most suitable choice for him. Only in 1990, when he fulfilled his wish and returned to Nanlung High School, did he discover that the old hometown of his memories had become a foreign place.

* * *

Liu Hsiao-shen and Charlie Sung met because they taught at the same school; then Sung started taking part in the Kaohsiung Birdwatchers' Society. At first the two undertook an ecological record of Yellow Butterfly Valley. The starting point was a pessimistic desire to leave behind a record of "the last glimpse." The plan for the Meinung reservoir included building the dam straight across the old tropical "mother forest" which traversed the mouth of the valley; the entire Yellow Butterfly Valley would be submerged. Even though in their hearts they did not want to accept defeat, as ordinary citizens, how could they make the government change its mind?

"In those days Hsiao-shen and I would go motorcycle riding, one of us on the DT dirt bike, the other on a little 135cc cycle. Under the scorching sun, we'd ride high up to a scenic overlook to survey Yellow Butterfly Valley. We'd think of our homes on the other side of the mountain, and suddenly a wave of sorrow would overtake our hearts!"

These obedient citizens turned into rabble-rousers, but the decision was made in a split second. One night, artist Tseng Wen-chung brought together the members of the Seventh Section Work Station and such people as Liu and Sung to discuss the impact the reservoir would have on the life, property and natural environment of the people of Meinung, and the threat it posed to their culture. They formulated 10 main points of opposition. Tseng Wen-chung wrote in an article, "...That night I asked everyone if they dared to undertake this labor of love and save Meinung. Everyone laughed and said they were not afraid. So we started to make ready for battle, to protest the reservoir's construction."

To shed light upon the environmental impact the reservoir would have, not only did the two men conduct a survey of birds in the area, they also extended their investigation to butterflies and plants. Sung contributed hundreds of thousands of NT dollars for purchasing camera equipment. Sometimes while waiting for a perfect moment to shoot, he would not eat or drink for a whole day, and he would feel not the least bit hungry. Or one of them would be in the mountain areas observing birds and for ten hours straight wouldn't dare to breathe loudly. Only after the other one took over would they be able to eat or relieve themselves. Within a few years, they completely surveyed the ecosystems of the 90 varieties of birds in the valley.

They also cooperated with a birdwatching society to hold Yellow Butterfly Valley ecological guidance activities and small-scale explanatory meetings. In order to gain the support of the village people, the two, along with members of the Love Meinung Alliance, went door-to-door, visiting local opinion leaders. Sometimes they would sit for a whole evening, and only in the last two sentences bring up the subject they wanted to talk about.

Because they started from the point of view of the environment, they had some differences with the Love Meinung Alliance, whose ideas stemmed from a concern for society. Consequently, the two young men began to think they should have their own name. After some consideration they also chose a mascot, the Indian pitta bird.

Every year, the Indian pitta bird calls upon Meinung. Legend has it that when Zheng Chenggong first arrived in Taiwan, he once set up two fortresses, the Gentle Breeze Court and the Bright Moon Pavilion, on the upper reaches of Shuang Creek, where he drilled troops and hoarded grain. After Zheng Chenggong died, in 1685 his grandson Zheng Keshuang submitted a letter of surrender to the Qing Dynasty. After the news spread around, all the soldiers and officers were so agitated that they wept bitterly and their tears turned to blood. Ultimately, they were transformed into pitta birds and flew away. Ever since, the birds have returned every year as if they never could forget their master. Liu Hsiao-shen and Charlie Sung found traces of the pitta birds in the "mother forest" area in May of 1993. The Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors were formally established that June.

In 1993 and 1994, under the leadership of the Love Meinung Alliance, people from Meinung, wearing traditional blue Hakka shirts, went up north to the Legislative Yuan to protest the establishment of the reservoir. Right there at the Legislative Yuan, Liu and Sung met two future fellow Protectors--Liu Chao-neng and Huang Hung-sung.

* * *

Liu Chao-neng often helped out in the crop fields as a kid. Later on he studied at Kaohsiung High School, and whenever he traveled home on the Kaohsiung bus, he would gaze at the scenery along the way. He always felt that Meinung was changing. But he couldn't put into words what was changing or why.

During this time, he developed a new habit: Whenever he arrived at any new place, he would familiarize himself with its history and culture. "For instance, whenever I lay my eyes on the ages-old Red Building, it will occur to me that during the February 28 uprising this place used to be the stronghold of activities against the nationalist forces." His purpose in "going out to see other cities" was none other than clearing the doubts in his heart about the transformation of his hometown.

In his university days, Liu Chao-neng took part in a social club at Chung-Yuan Christian University which published a magazine, and he helped organize a Logical Thinking Camp and an Environmental Living Camp. He also studied legislative procedure, joined in the student movement and demonstrated against the aging "perpetual parliamentarians" then still in office. With a lot of club experience, he happened to become acquainted with the Love Meinung Alliance when going to the Legislative Yuan to demonstrate against the construction of the reservoir in 1994. At the time he was earning his education accreditation from National Chengchi University. He particularly went to see Liu Hsiao-shen and Charlie Sung, whose names he had heard and had long admired, and he felt that they shared the same ideals. "It so happened that Nanlung Junior High School had a vacancy for a substitute teacher. So I went back to my hometown to join in the ranks of the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors."

After being in contact with plants since his high school days, Liu Chao-neng has been called the "encyclopedia" of the workshop. The four "bird men" often submit articles to the press to try to wield some influence. Liu Chao-neng is the most productive.

* * *

Huang Hung-sung didn't join the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors until the beginning of this year. His whole life he has never ventured far from Meinung. His home was located in Chutouchiao (today's Kuanghsing), which is not far away from Yellow Butterfly Valley. Naturally, the valley became a must stop for swimming and relieving the summer heat. The farming tradition of Meinung filled his memory with tobacco and rice paddies.

He once wrote an article about his memories of tobacco-drying racks. "In December, during the tobacco leaf harvest season, the wood fires set under the drying racks had to be looked after around the clock. The tobacco-farming families almost completely lived next to the drying racks. In my distant memory, there were so many endless nights when I would sit in front of the hearth door and stare at the burning flames through the cracks under the iron lid, falling asleep in my mother's arms."

The older generation of Meinung residents have tasted the hardship of farming, so most of them hope that their children can become teachers. Huang Hung-sung followed his parents' wishes and went to Pingtung Teachers' College, not far from Meinung. After he graduated, he returned to his hometown to teach.

"Early on in 1988, when there was word about the reservoir in Meinung, I wrote a letter to the then mayor Chung Teh-chen, arguing that the financial conglomerate involved was not beneficial and that they would destroy our original way of life. But I never got a reply." In the darkness, holding the steering wheel, Huang Hung-sung sighs slightly. He bought his jeep at more than NT$600,000 to help facilitate his ecological surveys.

The reason why his opinions weren't taken seriously at the time was,of course, that as an individual his power was limited. In addition, he also lacked tangible supporting evidence. Therefore, in addition to taking charge of the group's administration, he also began to amass specialized knowledge about ecology, so that he could translate the love he felt for his hometown into reality.

* * *

This year the Legislative Yuan struck down the budget for the Meinung reservoir. Therefore, the group's daunting foe, the reservoir, has been temporarily vanquished. Nevertheless, rumors are circulating that the Meinung Township council plans to build a university campus and a Hakka Cultural Museum in Yellow Butterfly Valley. Those who are engaged in ecological conservation must even more diligently propagate the ideas of the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors. Besides announcing the Yellow Butterfly Valley Environmental Pact in the valley itself, they have also organized a workshop to hasten the birth of the Yellow Butterfly Valley Ecological Park, so as to block all the development projects that crop up one after another. In light of the fact that they have mostly relied on the support of birdwatching societies in the south for their various lectures, they hope to cultivate their own volunteers, to work for the local ecology and put down the roots of their influence in their home.

This summer they will hold the "Pitta Bird Children's Ecology Camp." This is the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors' first time to singlehandedly organize an event, and it also counts as a self-test for these "bird men."

When Charlie Sung looks back to the past, he endlessly laments. Back then, when he threw himself into the movement opposing the reservoir's construction, his parents objected, fearing he might lose his teaching position. Now, they worry that he might be so involved that he will put off getting married. All four young men hope their future better halves will share their love for Meinung. But of the girls who have stayed in Meinung, few seem to share their ideals. No wonder they all stick to the principle of "delaying."

Over more than two years of devoted effort, the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors have pursued neither fame nor profit. They only anticipate that through tangible actions they can find a sense of belonging to the land.

Happy the man whose wish and care

A few paternal acres bound,

Content to breathe his native air,

In his own ground

This glorification of pastoral life, "Ode on Solitude," written by the 18th century poet Alexander Pope, is a fitting portrayal of today's Meinung "bird men."

[Picture Caption]

p.104

Hold up a camera and the ecological world of Yellow Butterfly Valley is all in view.

p.106

To prepare for "Yellow Butterfly Day," the "bird men" often stay up until one or two in the morning and hurry to school to start classes by 7:30.

p.108

The goal of the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors is to transmit proper ecological ethics. From the left, Liu Chao-neng, Charlie Sung, Liu Hsiao-shen and Huang Hung-sung.

To prepare for "Yellow Butterfly Day," the "bird men" often stay up until one or two in the morning and hurry to school to start classes by 7:30.

The goal of the Yellow Butterfly Valley Protectors is to transmit proper ecological ethics. From the left, Liu Chao-neng, Charlie Sung, Liu Hsiao-shen and Huang Hung-sung.